


To Keep You Warm

by OhNoMyBreadsticks



Series: Side Stories: Of Gods and their Humans [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but with magic, elder forest gods, is really what this is lmao, mentioned sickness (mild cold), mentions of seasonal depression, modern day AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 18:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18371417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhNoMyBreadsticks/pseuds/OhNoMyBreadsticks
Summary: Winter comes, the cold biting at Gavin's skin and settling over his mind like a fog. It's lucky for him that he has a boyfriend who is both prepared and resourceful.(Can be read as a stand-alone)





	To Keep You Warm

**Author's Note:**

> As I struggle through writing Part Four of Gavin and Niles' story, here is a short and fluffy episode to tide ya'll over! I wanted to practice writing JUST fluff and nothing else, so I hope it turned out enjoyable C: Since this doesn't fit into the main timeline I popped it into its own series, which will hopefully house more soft and fluffy oneshots!
> 
> If you're new to this series, welcome! All you need to know is that Niles is an elder forest god with antlers, and Gavin is his human bf who lives with him in his forest. You can read more about their adventures over [here](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1219730).
> 
> If you've stuck with me this long, thank you so much, I appreciate all your support <3 
> 
> As always my incredible beta and partner in crime is [thislittlekumquat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thislittlekumquat/pseuds/thislittlekumquat) <3 <3

The first winter in the cave was  _ rough _ . Gavin had somehow managed to forget that once the weather turned cold it was going to be really fucking cold because now he lived in a cave in the woods. It wasn’t like he could shut himself in his shitty apartment and bury himself in blankets. 

 

He still buried himself in blankets, all wrapped up in the furs that he and Niles slept under on the bed, but it wasn’t quite the same. Niles seemed to have forgotten about the cold as well, but that was probably because he couldn’t really feel it. Not like Gavin did, cold seeping down into his bones and making his head all fuzzy.

 

Niles just got sluggish as the cold set in, and it took Gavin longer than he wanted to admit to realize that it was probably because life in the forest was also slowing down. It wasn’t until he was pressed up against the elk that he could actually hear how slow Niles’ heart was beating - his blood actually slowing down like the sap in the frozen trees outside. It had scared him, the first time it happened, waking up to Niles still and quiet next to him. Gavin still remembers the way the panic had made his fingers start to go numb even as he desperately shook at Niles’ shoulders, calling out his name in a voice that was too shaky to really do any good.

 

Luckily for both of them, it hadn’t taken Niles too long to wake up, grey eyes blinking blearily up at Gavin before recognition set in. He had soothed Gavin’s familiar panic with that soft, deep voice of his - the vibrations of it echoing up through his chest and into Gavin’s core. Had told him how the winter made him sleep deeper, but that he would never leave him like that. And Gavin had believed him, because Niles never lied. Of all the things in this goddamn bitch of a world he could rely on, he could rely on that.

 

After that first scare, Niles apparently still hadn’t realized that Gavin might need a bit more help getting through the winter. He really was the most thoughtful boyfriend Gavin had ever had (although that bar wasn’t very high, so he felt bad thinking it), but sometimes things about humans just...escaped him. Like how cold they got, or how being too cold for too long would make them sick. Luckily for both of them, Gavin’s immune system wasn’t the weakest thing about him, so there wasn’t any serious danger, but by the way he whined and moaned when his throat burned and his nose stuffed up, Niles must have thought he was on death’s door.

 

Niles dutifully sat by his side as Gavin coughed and sneezed, wiping the sweat off his forehead with damp cloths and making sure he sat up every few hours and drank some water. Gavin was sure he was the most disgusting excuse for a human being, and his mind was quick to remind him that this was a good chance for Niles to realize just what he was getting into and back out like everyone else. But for some unfathomable reason he never did, instead pressing soft kisses to Gavin’s forehead as he drifted in and out of sleep and reassuring him that forest gods couldn’t catch the common cold.

 

As soon as Gavin was recovered enough to sit up on his own and make his own food, Niles had launched into a gigantic project to try and stop this from happening again. Dipping into the reserve of furs and tanned hides that he had collected over the years, Niles had begun to stitch together a sort of curtain to hang across the entrance of the cave. Gavin watched his boyfriend’s clever hands as he wielded a needle longer than his finger to pierce through the tough leather with ease, commenting with a laugh, “God babe, you could really just murder me in my sleep with that thing.” Niles had simply smiled that mysterious little smile of his at the neat line of stitches appearing on the furs, replying, “You know I would never harm you, Gav.” And the sincerity of it was enough to punch the steam out of Gavin’s self-deprecating little joke, leaving him a little baffled but feeling warm inside.

 

Faster than Gavin could have imagined, the curtain was finished, and Niles recruited his help in hammering hooks into the wall of the cave so that they could hang it up. He managed it with only minimal bruising to his knuckles from the hammer, and Niles had rewarded him with soft kisses across the whole of his hand, so really what did he have to complain about? Then Gavin got to stand back and watch as Niles hung the curtain up, humming softly to himself in some long-dead language (or really just a language Gavin couldn’t identify; it wasn’t like he knew much about linguistics). 

 

It was hard to explain, but something weird happened whenever Niles hummed like that. It made all the hairs on Gavin’s arms stand up, but not in a bad way? Like something big was coming up just behind him, something that could harm him but had no intention of doing so. Gavin had never asked Niles about it because he was pretty sure he knew what was going on - the fact that the curtain suddenly kept out all manner of chill even though it wasn’t even a proper door was a big hint too. Now that he lived in a cave and regularly made out with a guy who had antlers, a little magic didn’t bother him.

 

With the entrance to the cave sealed up, that rest of that first winter wasn’t nearly as bad. Some chill air still got in through the little vent in the ceiling that was open above the fire pit, but when he was cold Gavin could always just snuggle up in bed and whine until Niles joined him. And soon enough winter melted into spring, bringing with it new growth on the trees and rushing streams cutting through the forest floor. There was a sharp gleam to Niles’ eyes as spring woke up the earth around him, and it was all Gavin could do to keep up. 

 

But time, like many things, was relentless in its onslaught, and winter returned once more. Gavin thought he was ready this time, with the curtain in place as soon as the first winds of fall turned too chilly. The days were more comfortable, and he only had to retreat into the blankets on truly terrible days. Mornings were slower, but Gavin wasn’t one to complain about a slightly bleary Niles curling up against him and murmuring, “Just a few more moments, love, then I’ll get up….” That was actually one of his favorite things about winter, he was coming to realize. And there was still lots of preserved food to eat, so starving wasn’t exactly a threat.

 

No, it was simply the dull monotony of it all that ended up getting to Gavin. With the curtain hiding the entrance to the cave, he was barely able to tell the time of day any more, the dim light filtering in from the ceiling not enough to do anything by. He started to feel trapped, like an animal in a cage that wasn’t allowed to see the sky any more. It certainly didn’t help the dull fog that always settled into his brain when the days got shorter. After the first month of cold it was like Gavin was wading through molasses himself, his emotions all blurring into one sad soup of….well, nothing really. Like he was too tired to have an opinion on how bummed out he should be.

 

Niles noticed, because of course he did. Gavin was pretty sure his boyfriend could just look into his eyes and see everything going on in his head. Which was bad sometimes, but also really helpful when you were terrible at talking about things. And boy was Gavin terrible at talking about things, the self-satisfied voice in the back of his head reminded him, just like most everything else he tried. Without the energy to combat those thoughts, Gavin simply laid back down and watched Niles watching him carefully. Like some sort of knot of string to be unraveled, or a puzzle he had put together incorrectly.

 

The next morning, Gavin woke up to Niles already up and moving through the cave, humming softly to himself. “Good morning, darling,” Niles greeted him with a soft smile once he felt Gavin’s eyes on his skin. “Breakfast is ready, and then I’ll need your help with something.” Niles often asked for his help with tasks, so Gavin wasn’t surprised by this request. By the time he had forced himself to roll out of bed and eat the now chilled porridge, Niles had two things laid out in front of him in the center of the cave - a large pile of furs and a bolt of thick dark blue fabric. Curious, but only mildly so, Gavin approached and sat down next to his boyfriend, legs crossed lazily.

 

“I would like you to sort through the furs and pick the ones that are thick but still soft,” Niles instructed once he had leaned over and given Gavin a gentle kiss on the cheek in greeting. “It doesn’t matter what color they are, just that you like how they feel.” Reaching for the first fur on the top of the pile and running his hand across it to feel the texture against his skin, Gavin knew better than to question Niles about the purpose of this little exercise. If he wanted to explain something he would do so, in excruciating detail, but if he didn’t then Gavin would just get little chuckles and teasing glances. 

 

Instead, Gavin listened to Niles telling stories about the people who had woven the cloth he was cutting up into large pieces with one of his hunting knives. His voice became a sort of quiet mantra as he continued his work, the soft sounds of his consonants drifting up with the smoke of the smoldering fire. Gavin let himself sink into it, his hands picking through the pile of furs and feeling the texture of each animal’s unique coat. Niles didn’t eat meat, Gavin knew, but he certainly seemed to hunt for other reasons. Or maybe these were left behind by the men who used to serve him. Lots of things in the cave were like that - filled with the stories of people who were long dead. It didn’t bother Gavin any more. 

 

Faster than Gavin realized, the pile of furs was finished, now separated into two different categories - the soft furs far outweighing the coarse ones. “Ah, wonderful. You’ve done a good job, thank you,” Niles said, looking up from where he was now stitching two pieces of the fabric together. Gavin managed a small smile at that, the sincerity of Niles’ praise never failing to warm him at his very core. He certainly hoped he wasn’t going to be asked to sew. The last time he had tried that he had ended up with bleeding thumbs and a severely wounded sense of pride.

 

Instead, Niles had him get up and prepare lunch for both of them. By the time he was halfway through warming up the soup they had jarred in the fall, Gavin’s stomach caught up to the idea of food and began to growl, leaving him to wonder how Niles managed to predict his hunger better than his own brain did. Probably because his god brain wasn’t constantly kicking itself around for fun, but that was moot at this point. Niles paused in his work to sit and eat with Gavin, asking him questions about cars again. As someone who had never driven a car and seemed unlikely to ever even ride in one, he found the concept fascinating. 

 

“Humans are so inventive,” Niles said as he resumed his stitching, Gavin still slowly working his way through the last of his soup. “They innovate so much faster than the plants of the forest.” 

 

Gavin laughed and said, “Didn’t know plants innovated, babe. Doesn’t seem to be much of a competition there.” 

 

That got him an eye roll and a knowing little smirk as Niles retorted, “You would be surprised. Things that are alive want to stay that way, and will do almost anything to achieve that goal.” He spoke of the moss that crawled its way onto the moist side of a rock, of trees whose seed pods developed century after century to be easier to carry, and of clever brambles breaking through even the toughest soil.

 

By the time they were done arguing about whether or not ‘getting easier to shit out’ counted as innovation, Niles had finished the majority of his stitching, and seemed to be satisfied with the general shape of whatever he was making. Gavin still couldn’t quite identify what the shape of the damn thing was yet - maybe another blanket? Or another cloak? Niles had a few of those, but they never managed to keep enough of the cold out for Gavin to use them. He didn’t know how those old timey movies made cloaks look so warm, whenever he put one on the hood always blew off immediately and the front never stayed closed. Goddamn useless, in his opinion.

 

“Could you please bring me the offerings box?” Niles asked, cutting through the vague haze of thoughts Gavin had fallen into. He shook his head to try to clear it (like that ever worked), and pushed himself up to his feet to walk over to the corner of the cave where they kept all of the intricate metalwork Niles had collected over the centuries. 

 

“Want the antler box or what?” Gavin asked, surveying the many different cases they had sorted through and stacked neatly last summer. The antler box was his favorite, containing all of the chains and jewels that fit best in Niles’ antlers when Gavin adorned him. He ran a finger across the chain on top, hearing the familiar jingle of metal that made him think of Niles beaming down at him - eyes and antlers both alight with the glow of the fire.

 

“No, the box of broken pieces please,” Niles called out, deep in concentration at a particularly difficult seam. Gavin raised an eyebrow at that, but brought it over nonetheless, settling back down next to his boyfriend and leaning in to watch his fingers at work. Niles had such delicate-looking fingers, but they were incredibly deft and skilled at whatever task he turned them to. 

 

But gentle, too, when they stroked across Gavin’s skin and through his hair. 

 

Finally satisfied with the stitching, Niles looked up to meet his boyfriend’s gaze and said softly, “Could you please find a piece for me? I believe it’s silver, with small bells attached to it.” Nodding, Gavin turned and began to rummage through the box, turning over dented broaches, rings missing their stones, and halves of chains. 

 

“Found it!” Gavin exclaimed with some satisfaction, holding up the silver piece in the air. It was a sort of oblong broach that used to have a backing or pin of some sort but was now simply smooth on one side. The little dangling bells on the bottom of the curve chimed quietly as Gavin turned it over in his palm. 

 

“Excellent, thank you darling,” Niles said, looking up from his work to confirm that was the piece he had been wanting. “It used to be part of a ceremonial bridle of sorts, I believe. I disposed of the rest of the piece, but kept this because the bells were pretty.” Gavin nodded as he shook it softly, listening to the chime and saying, “Yeah, I can see that. They have a nice quiet ring to ‘em.”

 

Niles didn’t have any other tasks he asks Gavin for help with, so he ended up sitting in bed and working on some rope-work he had been meaning to finish for a while. Somehow, having Niles sitting and working diligently made it easier for Gavin to force his brain to actually  _ do _ something. Instead of, you know, just zoning out and falling asleep for another four hours or whatever. They passed the time in comfortable silence until it was time for another meal, the cave filling up once again with laughter as Gavin teased Niles for getting soot on his nose while he tended to the fire. 

 

“Just like a real elk,” he laughed, smudging the black around on his boyfriend’s nose even further to make a little snout. Niles just laughed along and kissed Gavin until they were both covered in soot.

 

Niles kept working all the way into the night, even as Gavin snuggled up in bed and yawned tiredly. “Come to bed, babe,” he called out softly, patting the empty space next to him and hoping it would soon be filled with a warm body. Niles simply looked up from his collection of furs and shook his head with a smile. He did get up and give Gavin a kiss goodnight, but then he returned to his work, despite the whining protests coming from the bed. Gavin sighed and let himself drift off to sleep, knowing it was useless to try and argue with him. 

 

The few times Gavin woke up in the middle of the night, rolling over awkwardly or realizing one of his legs had stuck out from the blankets, and he heard Niles softly singing to himself, the jingle of bells floating up along with his voice. It was a slow sound, and something about it made him feel...safe. Warm. Like he was getting a hug without having to actually walk over and wrap himself up in those strong arms. His tired mind didn’t let Gavin think too hard on why Niles might be sitting and singing like that, just that he hoped maybe one day Niles might do it again.

 

Dawn broke and Gavin woke to find Niles had joined him in bed at some point during the early hours of the morning. He watched the slow huff of Niles’ breath, and counted the little freckles that dotted across his nose and cheeks. He wanted to reach out and trace their outlines like constellations, but he also knew his boyfriend needed the sleep. Niles didn’t look tired, per say, but Gavin knew he had been up late, working on...whatever that thing was. It was folded neatly next to the bed, but he would have to roll across Niles’ sleeping body to reach it, and again, he was pretty comfy where he was right now.

 

When Niles finally did wake up, Gavin pressed soft kisses across his cheekbones and laughed against his skin when he was pulled into a tight hug. “Did you sleep well?” Niles asked when he finally released Gavin from his snuggle attack. He nodded, replying, “Yeah, whatever you were singing there in the middle of the night really made me fall right back asleep. What were you up so late working on anyways?” 

 

Niles face broke into a bright grin at that, seeming to suddenly be awake all over again. “Would you like to see?” he asked, and Gavin could only say yes in the face of such enthusiasm.

 

Niles had them up and dressed faster than Gavin could really process, as fuzzy as his brain still was from just waking up. Proudly, he picked up the navy blue bundle and shook it out, revealing a lush fur lining inside. It was, in fact, a cloak - a huge one with a wide hood and a gleaming silver clasp that Gavin recognized as the brooch from earlier, somehow transformed. 

 

“It’s for you,” Niles said, holding it out, “So we can go outside together again.” Gavin was dumbstruck by the sincerity of his boyfriend wanting to make him something to alleviate the dull ache of not even knowing what color the sky was for like three months straight. He couldn’t even bring himself to say anything about how he really didn’t think a cape was going to keep him warm, even one lined with fur.

 

Instead, Gavin said, “Thank you,” as he put the cloak around his shoulders and swept up the hood, following Niles out through the curtain and into the blinding white of the snow outside. As he blinked desperately in an attempt to clear his vision and adjust to the light, Gavin suddenly realized that he was warm. Properly warm too, like he was back inside and buried under a pile of blankets. The fur of the cloak brushed against his skin, soft and fluffy, and the little bells of the clasp jingled quietly every time he took a step. It was like being enveloped in a warm hug, and suddenly Gavin knew. He looked over at Niles and saw his boyfriend smiling fondly at him, and he knew that this was no ordinary cloak. 

 

“I made it to keep you warm,” Niles offered, again reading Gavin’s mind. “I can’t bear to see you shivering out in the winter air.” Gavin had to fight back the embarrassing sting of tears that rose in his eyes at the thought - that Niles had spent all this time making this just for him, had sung his magic into the fabric and the clasp, had let Gavin help so he wouldn’t feel completely overwhelmed by the gift… 

 

“You fucked up on the design though, babe,” he finally managed to say in a slightly steady voice. Niles’ eyebrows knit together in alarm at that, and he opened his mouth to speak before his chilly hand was taken in Gavin’s warm one.

 

“My hand’s gonna get awfully cold if I have to stick it out of the cloak to hold yours every time we go outside,” Gavin finished, shooting him a lopsided grin. The answering look of relief and understanding made his chest warm in a way that only Niles could manage, magic or no magic.

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory reminder that, were we to meet, I could and would kick Dabid Caje's ass.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the fluff! As always, thank you so much for reading, all of your support and kind words keep me writing more of these two dorks <3


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